


If I had a choice, I would still choose you

by briangel



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, engineering student! jeno, jaemin is rich, jeno is whiny and poor and gay, jeno runs from his feelings, medical student! jaemin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23254189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/briangel/pseuds/briangel
Summary: When Jeno meets his (rather rich) soulmate under unfortunate circumstances, shit hits the fan. But maybe that's just Jeno being dramatic.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 5
Kudos: 66





	If I had a choice, I would still choose you

**Author's Note:**

> so this bad boy has been in the drafts for a Very Long Time,,, this is probably the fourth draft hhhh. you can thank the quarantine for boring me to the point of actually deciding to work on and edit this fic to the point where i could post it lmaoo.
> 
> a big thanks to izzy for beta reading this mess for me over the past couple of days and helping to clean it up to meet the ao3 standards, and even suggesting an alternate title (BIG GAY in magenta comic sans, font size 96).
> 
> reminder that everything in this fic is purely fictional and does not reflect on the boys irl :) if it is similar to another fic, it was completely unintentional. rated teen for swearing.

Jeno stood, holding onto an overhead rung after giving up his seat to an elderly woman before the train left the station. In true broke university student fashion, Jeno was on his way back to the apartment he shared with two other students after working for hours on end at the mall. He was lucky enough that Donghyuck was willing to give him a drive back instead of leaving him to walk five blocks from the subway station.

The conductor’s voice announced the next stop over the intercom, the doors sliding open soon after. Jeno followed the mass of people off the train, up the stairs, and out of the station, finally sitting on a bench outside. Donghyuck actually had his own car, thanks to his parents' splurge to “encourage him to study harder”. It was no more than a 2010 Honda Civic, but it was a car nonetheless. Their friends always teased him about it mercilessly, even though they had it no better. Maybe if Donghyuck hadn’t gotten into the same university as him and didn’t have a half-decent car, Jeno would’ve been more inclined to get his own. 

He and Donghyuck had been best friends since elementary school when Donghyuck had thrown a rock at Jeno’s head before asking Jeno to make potions in the sand with him. They ended up at the same elementary and high school (those poor teachers) and later, by whichever deity’s blessing, got accepted at the same university.

Jeno pulled out his phone, checking the time and his remaining battery. Donghyuck’s lecture ended at 4:30, followed by the hour he spent in the library afterwards with his boyfriend, Mark Lee, “reviewing the material” despite Mark not even being in the same major. It was only 5:30, so Jeno had some time to kill. He pocketed his phone with a sigh, glancing around at the other people in the area.

Mindlessly, Jeno looked down at his arm where a string of dark ink stared back at him. The sentence branded onto his forearm was his soulmate tattoo. If it was any other tattoo, Jeno’s mother would have his head. To no one’s surprise, the tattoos had been the most scientifically explored phenomenon for several generations. Scientists had many theories about the tattoos’ origin, yet very few solid facts. The most well-known of these facts being:

  1. The tattoo reads the first words said to you by your soulmate.
  2. The tattoo appears on your fifteenth birthday.
  3. The attraction is not always immediate; it takes no set amount of time for people to fall in love but it will always happen, no matter how gradually.



Contrary to most, Jeno didn’t hold any special value in finding his soulmate. The freedom that came with being able to bar hop every other weekend without being unfaithful wasn’t something that Jeno was inclined to lose. A casual hook-up was all he had time for anyway. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to find his soulmate (it kind of was), but rather he didn’t want to commit to a relationship that he didn’t have time for. Jeno didn’t care whether his soulmate was a man, woman, whatever. All he hoped for was a respectable person—meaning that his soulmate couldn’t be a homophobic piece of shit. Jeno reasoned that since this person was his soulmate, it was out of the question for them to be so.

At 6:15 on the dot, he got a message from Donghyuck. Despite knowing that it said something along the lines of _‘aight i’m here fuckhead’_ , Jeno checked it anyway. Sure enough, it said, “ _aight bitch i’m here but you’re driving today because i’m working on sumn_ ”. Jeno stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder before starting towards the road to find Donghyuck’s car.

Jeno passed by people in work suits and students going in and out of cram school, reminding him of the _hours_ he spent during high school working his ass off to improve his university applications. He shuddered every time he thought about it. Jeno was passing by a particularly pretty tree when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to see another message from Donghyuck. _“we’re still dropping by the hospital, right?”_

Instead of trying to type out a response while walking, Jeno decided to call Donghyuck to avoid the embarrassment of running into somebody. Donghyuck answered after a couple of rings, greeting him with a classy, “The fuck do you want?”

“God forbid I try to be responsible and not text while walking,” Jeno said. “Let’s not try to fit every young adult stereotype ever, okay?”

Jeno could almost hear Donghyuck roll his eyes. “Loser.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jeno rolled his eyes right back. “Have you heard anything new on how Wooyoung’s doing?”

“Not really, but we should still pay him a visit. He’s probably pretty lonely. I know that I would be. That place reeks of antiseptic with decor that would make prison cell designers jealous. Besides, you act as though his boyfriend doesn’t visit him almost every day to keep him company.” San had been visiting Wooyoung at least once a day for the past three weeks or so. It was hard to fathom how he was still managing to pass his classes at the same time.

Jeno sidestepped a girl with her eyes glued to the phone in her hands, almost tripping over a bench. “That’s true. It could be worse, though. Sure, he got hit by a car, but at least he was hit by a rich person. Now he gets to stay in one of the best hospitals in the city.”

Jeno could hear Donghyuck shift in his seat before answering. “Okay, fair. Just wanted to check and make sure we were on the same page. See you in a minute, bye now.”

“Alright, bye loser.”

After hanging up, Jeno continued down the sidewalk, looking for Donghyuck’s old car. Donghyuck always said that the disappointment he felt when he first saw the car was probably on par with the disappointment that his parents felt whenever they looked at him. He finally spotted the grey car, Donghyuck in the passenger seat as he said he would be. Jeno threw his bag in the back then climbed into the driver’s seat beside Donghyuck.

The cloth of the seats was worn down by previous and current owners of the car, the seats covered in coffee stains and other unidentifiable substances. It was probably best that they remained a mystery. The music playing was one of Donghyuck’s self-glorified playlists, composed of a variety of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin among other artists. His car was old enough that it still took CD’s, this one originating from their first year of university.

“Hey, dumbass,” Donghyuck greeted him. Jeno smiled in return, slamming the door shut to close it all the way. “How was work?”

He rubbed at a bit of dirt on the dashboard. “Same old, same old.” Jeno worked part-time at the mall as a retail sales associate. It had been a relatively calm day and one of his favourite co-workers, Mingi, had been working the same shift.

“What are you working on?” Jeno asked Donghyuck, who was intently staring at a notebook. He looked over at the paper and saw that there was a long line of bullet points, although only a couple were filled in.

“Mark told me to write a list for a project that we have to do this weekend for his best friend or whatever, but clearly, I have not and I would like to keep my McDonald’s privileges.” Donghyuck looked up from his notebook, staring blankly through the windshield. “Bro, I’m so screwed, oh my god. I can’t even fucking _think_ right now.”

Mark Lee was Donghyuck’s boyfriend and soulmate of two years. Whereas Donghyuck was more impulsive and free-spirited, Mark preferred organization and planning ahead. They balanced each other out; Donghyuck brought more spontaneity into Mark’s life, and Mark helped Donghyuck stay focused and more relaxed. 

Jeno chuckled at his dramatic antics while buckling his seatbelt. Donghyuck always started using ‘bronouns’ when he got stressed. “You’ll be fine,” he assured him.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the hospital, a building that stood four stories tall but stretched far across the ground. It was one of the fanciest hospitals that Jeno had ever seen, albeit only having seen a couple of others. The white supporting columns along the outside as well as in the waiting area reminded him of an expensive resort. The blue windows and white stone decorating the building gave it a clean and modern look. With the plants and modern architecture, Jeno couldn’t help but wonder how much Wooyoung’s stay would cost if the family of the chaebol that hit him wasn’t paying for the entire thing.

Their visit only lasted twenty minutes but ended with the promise of another visit soon. As they were leaving, Jeno noticed a man talking to a doctor. There was a tugging feeling in Jeno’s gut that he couldn’t explain, pulling him towards the stranger. Even from no more than a brief glance, Jeno could tell that the man was handsome.

Before he stepped through the doors, Jeno looked over his shoulder in hopes of seeing the man once more, feeling inexplicably drawn to him. Unexpectedly, the attractive stranger was looking right back at him. They locked eyes, sending a shiver down Jeno’s spine. He froze mid-stride, feeling as though they were the only two in the room. It was as if Jeno had suddenly developed tunnel-vision, his brain refusing to focus on anything but the man. Jeno was brought back from whatever mindscape he had been transported to when their eye contact broke, courtesy of a punch on the arm from an impatient Donghyuck.

Jeno couldn’t remember ever seeing the man before, yet there was a nagging feeling in the back of his brain telling him that he had. A sense of familiarity, despite it being Jeno’s first time ever seeing him. He shook the feeling off as they exited the building, focusing on finding Donghyuck’s car in the massive parking lot instead. When they found the old Honda, it stood out like a cow in a horse stable. Jeno had never seen so many expensive cars in one place; it was any car nerd’s wet dream.

Jeno and Donghyuck discreetly checked out a few of the sports cars nearby, a red Audi R8 at the end of the row standing out to them both. After making themselves feel poor, Jeno and Donghyuck returned to the Honda Civic, Jeno returning to his designated spot in the driver’s seat. 

The man from before exited the hospital, walking towards where Jeno and Donghyuck were parked. With Jeno facing the backseat in his struggle to pull the charger out of his bag for his dying phone and Donghyuck having already turned back to his notebook, neither of the boys noticed the stranger passing by the car.

Having successfully found the charger and plugging his phone in, Jeno started to back out. Seeing as they had a tighter squeeze on their left, Jeno paid the right less attention. He looked past Donghyuck’s ducked head and didn’t see the car driving towards them. It shouldn’t have been a problem; the tail of their car was well out into the thruway. A sickening _crunch_ was heard from the rear end of the car.

Their car lurched sideways on impact. Jeno got more up close and personal with the steering wheel than he would’ve liked, and Donghyuck’s pen flew across his paper. Donghyuck stared at the dashboard and mumbled, “What the fuck.” Jeno couldn’t agree more.

Jeno pulled the car back into their parking spot, not wanting to block the exit. He really hoped that the damage was minimal. They really couldn’t afford repairs on top of rent and expenses and groceries. Jeno knew that Donghyuck was already stressed as it was and there was no need to make it worse. “I’ll check it out, you stay here. If it’ll send us into debt, I’ll tell you to come out.”

Without waiting for a response, Jeno climbed out of the car. Much to his dismay, there was a noticeable dent underneath the tail light that would definitely leave an even bigger dent in their bank accounts.

Jeno flinched when he noticed the red Audi R8 from before behind him. Looking down at the front bumper of the car, Jeno could see a dent, although significantly smaller than the one on their own. ‘ _Lucky bastard_ ,’ Jeno thought. ‘ _Paying for repairs wouldn’t even be a problem for someone who could afford a car like that.'_ It hurt to think about how such a car cost almost as much as Jeno’s tuition of three, nearly four years.

The sound of Donghyuck’s door slamming shut stole Jeno’s attention from where he was examining the damage. While he was looking at Donghyuck, Jeno missed the door of the Audi opening. The driver stepped out, and Jeno turned to look directly at the man from inside. The tugging feeling in Jeno’s gut had amplified, intensifying with every step the stranger took closer.

Jeno had heard of a dog matching its owner, but apparently it applied to cars as well. Much like the car, the man looked expensive and well-built. Jeno took it upon himself to dub the man ‘Richie’, since money practically oozed from his pores. Richie was further proof for Donghyuck’s theory; rich people have nothing better to do than make themselves look like they were sculpted by God and spend all of their free time in the gym. Jeno couldn’t help but think “thank God for short sleeve shirts and tight jeans.” His shirt stretched across his chest, the famous Gucci snake on the collar glaringly obvious (but not nearly as obvious as his collarbones and the skin exposed by the top two buttons that had been left undone). It was truly unfair how _good_ the plain white polo shirt looked on Richie. Jeno didn’t dare let his eyes stray lower than Richie’s waist for longer than three seconds. His face did justice to his body; a well-defined jawline, paired with a beautifully sloped nose and eyelashes that would make his aunt jealous. His lips were another forbidden area that Jeno didn’t allow himself to focus on. 

Regardless of his appearance and his surely award-winning personality, there was no doubt that Richie was a trust fund baby with parents who were either business conglomerates, doctors, lawyers or another stereotypical type of rich and successful—people that had been funded their whole life by their parents, not having to worry about keeping a roof over their head while staying fed (surely it wasn’t too much to ask to be able to afford rent and a tub of ice cream all in one week, right?). Jeno’s past experiences with such people had been less than ideal, to say the least. It wasn’t to say that he hated all people like this, but the vast majority? Definitely. 

Jeno tore his eyes away from Richie and looked down at Donghyuck who was crouched down by the tail light to see the full damage done. “Jeno, buddy,” Donghyuck muttered, “I hate to break it to you, but I’m gay.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Jeno was confused. “I’ve known that since we were fourteen.” He kept his voice low, scared of the reaction that could come from the stranger standing less than six feet away.

“You said to come out if it was bad.” Donghyuck pointed at the wrecked rear bumper. “Well, this is pretty fuckin’ bad.”

“I literally fucking hate you.” Jeno looked back over at Richie. He was checking out the damage on the Honda and running a hand through his hair, looking stressed. Richie looked unfairly good despite the frown marring his features. Jeno wished that he looked even half as good as Richie did when _he_ was stressed.

Even after being mussed multiple times, Richie’s hair still looked great. The man had good style; his brown hair complimented his shirt well, and if Jeno wasn’t mistaken, there was a leather jacket sitting in the passenger seat of his car. Jeno found it unreasonably attractive. Not that he was peeping, of course—unlike Donghyuck, he actually had self-control. Yep, no doubt about it. It was only a car (and one of the most handsome men that Jeno had ever seen—he didn’t know if it was harder to keep his eyes off of the Audi or Richie). A car that cost more than a year of rent and a year of tuition combined. Irrelevant! Didn’t matter _at all_! No doubt his parents bought the car for him; maybe it was a gift for getting into university or something equally as stupid. Jeno didn’t know. Rich people did stupid things.

Jeno inspected the dent on the Audi’s bumper. It certainly wasn’t nearly as bad as the damage on Donghyuck’s car, but it was still visible. If Jeno was in Richie’s place (in his fucking _dreams_ ), he would definitely be more worried about his nearly $200k car than an old box on wheels that hadn’t seen a car wash in ages. Who was he kidding—he was already more worried about the Audi than the car that drove him around every day. Thank whichever deities who had humbled Jeno and given him a fortune of a whopping 5 dollars. Richie cleared his throat, tearing Jeno’s attention away from the car. The Audi was the only thing keeping Jeno from staring at Richie instead. Maybe not the best first impression, but at least he didn’t rear-end a car that would send him into debt.

“Hey, look, I’m really sorry about your car. I was in a rush and distracted, so I didn’t notice you guys backing out,” Richie apologized. He wasn’t very good at hiding the fact that he would rather be anywhere else than standing there, having just hit someone else’s car. 

Jeno shivered as the feeling of hundreds of tiny needles poking into his skin ran up his forearm as Richie spoke. He rubbed at his forearm, wondering what had just happened. He crossed his arms against his chest, trying not to let himself get distracted.

Donghyuck spoke up before Jeno even got the chance to open his mouth. “Are you really, though?” Jeno elbowed him sharply in the ribs and received a glare in return.

Richie shifted his weight, looking uncomfortable at Donghyuck’s accusation. “Well, yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” His eyes darted from Donghyuck to Jeno.

“You just hit my shitty old car with your expensive car—I would’ve expected you to be more worried about your car than mine. Shouldn’t you be mad at us for backing into you or something?” Donghyuck folded his arms. Jeno looked at him in exasperation, trying to fathom why he was trying to get _them_ in trouble and not the person that had hit their car not two minutes earlier. Jeno decided that it was the stress getting to his brain.

Richie raised an eyebrow. “Do you _want_ me to be mad at you?” Jeno was wondering the same thing.

Donghyuck shrugged. “No, just surprised that you aren’t being more of an asshole about this.” Jeno blinked, trying to comprehend what was coming out of his mouth.

“I was going to offer to pay for the repairs… or is that too much for you?” Richie asked with a tilt of his head.

Donghyuck smiled. “That would be great actually, thanks.”

Jeno’s eyes went wider than they had already been and his mouth dropped open. Uncrossing his arms, he placed his hands on Donghyuck’s shoulders and directed him towards the front of the car. “What the hell?” Jeno hissed, “you can’t just _say_ that.”

“And why not?” Donghyuck shot back. “He hit my car and he looks loaded. What’s the problem?”

“Yeah, but we can’t just do that,” he argued. 

Donghyuck raised his eyebrows. “Bet.” 

Jeno ran a hand through his hair with a huff. He knew that it was no use fighting Donghyuck any longer. “Fine. But I’m gonna deal with it, so you get to sit in the car and wait.”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He paused before nodding his head in Richie’s direction. “Looks like you’re not the only one who can’t stop staring.” Donghyuck grinned as he clapped Jeno on the shoulder. “Have fun. Don’t embarrass yourself.”

“What—” Jeno started to protest, but Donghyuck was already opening the car door.

The door slammed shut and Jeno heaved a sigh. He walked back over to where Richie was waiting. “Me being willing to pay for repairs wasn’t too out of pocket then?” The lilt to his voice made it obvious that he knew exactly what Jeno and Donghyuck had agreed on.

“I hope it’s not too out of pocket to ask that of you,” Jeno replied, slightly hesitant. “I know that repairs won’t come cheap, especially on top of your own.”

Richie glanced over his shoulder at the shining sports car behind him. “It’ll be fine… I’ve got other cars.” It took all of Jeno’s willpower to not let his eyes bug out of his head. “Doesn’t mean I’ll get off easy, though.” Jeno could tell he wasn’t supposed to hear that last part so he dutifully ignored it.

Richie turned back to face Jeno. “I’m still willing to pay for all of it and it’s in your best interest to let me do so.” 

He nodded reluctantly. “Alright.” Richie shot him a dazzling smile and Jeno forgot how to breathe. “But I still want to repay you somehow.”

Richie tilted his head to the side. “Repay me? Even though _I_ crashed into _your_ car?”

Jeno could feel the heat rising to his face. “Well, maybe not repay, I guess. More like a ‘thank you’ for covering the repair cost?”

This earned a light chuckle. “Sure. Did you have anything in mind?”

“I mean not really, I didn’t think I’d get this far.” Richie’s smile widened and Jeno thought that he might go blind from how bright it was. “Maybe just coffee or something?”

“That works for me, yeah.” He stopped talking but Jeno could tell that he wanted to add something. Jeno nodded his head, urging Richie to continue. “Well—” he bit his lip, stopping himself once more. Richie’s nose suddenly became a whole lot more interesting.”Would you be up for spicing it up a little?”

“‘Spicing it up a little’? What do you mean?”

“Well, everyone goes out for coffee,” Richie said, gesturing vaguely with his hand. “And I rarely have time to actually sit down and drink it. So instead, it would be like a ‘redeem a free coffee’ and you could just send it to wherever I am.”

Jeno was silent as he thought it over. Richie must have taken the silence as a no. “Nevermind, it’s stupid, it was just a suggestion—”

“No, no,” Jeno cut him off. “That works for me. It’s convenient.” Richie visibly relaxed at his agreement. “How many coffees are we talking about here?”

“How about… whatever the final digit of the repair cost is, that’s how many coffees you owe me. One to nine for the range of possibility.”

Jeno grinned, his eyes turning into crescents. “Aight. It’ll be fun to see what the bill comes out to for more than one reason now.” He held out a hand. “I’ll give you Donghyuck’s number so that you can text him about the repairs.”

Richie fished his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Jeno after pulling up a new contact. He quickly entered the number from memory and saved it under “Lee Donghyuck” before handing back the phone, ignoring the number of cameras on the back (of course he had the latest iPhone. It had only been released yesterday. Why wouldn’t he?).

As Richie took his phone back, Jeno came to a realization. “Oh, I don’t think I ever actually caught your name.”

Richie looked up at Jeno with a small smile. “Na Jaemin.”

Jeno nodded dumbly, not knowing what to say. Jeno had the feeling that he had heard the name before, but no idea where. “And you?” Jaemin asked after a second of silence.

“Oh, uh, Lee Jeno.”

Jaemin smiled. “Alright then, Lee Jeno. Hopefully, I’ll see you around.” Jeno crouched down by the trunk of the Honda, fingers brushing over the dent in the bumper as Jaemin climbed into his car. Jeno stayed there, feeling poor, as Jaemin started up his engine.

During his inspection of the dent, Jeno missed the look that Jaemin cast his way before driving off without another word. Jeno pushed himself up off the ground, brushing the nonexistent dirt off of his pants. He flopped into the driver's seat, staring blankly through the windshield. “Well, that was fun.”

Donghyuck looked over expectantly. “Close the door. What was so fun about it?”

Jeno propped his head up with the arm that he had rested on the door. “He’s paying for the repairs, and I wanted to repay him—”

“Because you’re just so nice like that,” Donghyuck interjected, amused.

Jeno shot him a look. Jeno received a cheeky smile in return, but Donghyuck was silent. “ _Anyway_ , I’m now a coffee boy for an undetermined amount of time.” Donghyuck looked away, trying to stifle a laugh and failing miserably.

“Now, how’d you end up doing that?”

Jeno ran a hand down his face. “Apparently just getting coffee like normal people isn’t good enough.”

Donghyuck snorted with utmost grace. “So, he’s paying for the repairs?”

“Yeah. At least now you don’t have to hassle Mark for money.”

“Because hassling a broke medical student is the right way to go.”

“You say that as if you wouldn’t.”

Donghyuck grinned mischievously. “Of course not, who do you take me for?” He reached down by his feet, picking up an opened bottle of water. “You got his name, right?” 

“Yeah,” Jeno said absentmindedly. “Na Jaemin.”

Donghyuck choked on his water, spitting it all over his shirt. He pulled it away from his skin with a grimace. “What? Na Jaemin?” 

“That’s what I said.”

“Na Jaemin, as in, the super-rich Na Jaemin, son of the highest-paid neurosurgeon in the province and a super successful marketing manager, Na Jaemin?” That certainly explained the energy that Jaemin had, screaming ‘money!’ at anyone who got within a five-foot radius of him.

“Do I seem like the right person to ask something like that?” Jeno was known for his intense studying, but that was essentially all that his memory was good for. He had to maintain his scholarship somehow. Names were completely lost on him a whole 5 minutes after he learnt them. He also didn’t have a boyfriend studying in the medical field as his best friend did. 

Donghyuck threw his hands up. “Of course you wouldn’t fucking know. It was my mistake for asking. Just drive.”

“Yes, sir,” Jeno said obediently, buckling his seatbelt before starting up the car. He preferred going along with Donghyuck’s demands when he wasn’t in a good mood—Jeno had only experienced Donghyuck’s wrath once, and he was not eager to repeat the incident. There was a very high chance that the crescent-shaped scars left by fingernails were still there.

⇠❇⇢

Jeno stared at the ceiling. The only sound in their shared room was Donghyuck’s quiet breathing, yet sleep refused to take him. The silence of the night was suffocating while Jeno’s mind was incessantly loud; the conversation he’d had with his roommates the day before wouldn’t leave his thoughts. Jeno saw it coming. He’d really hoped that it was the lack of sleep that was getting to his brain or something (he probably would’ve had bigger problems to deal with had that been the case). Why else would he feel so attracted to a complete stranger? Maybe if he paid more attention to his roommate’s story of when he met his soulmate, it wouldn’t have come as such a shock. The problem was that after the first few retellings, Jeno tuned it out (he had never taken Jaehyun to be the sappy type, but here they were). It did take an embarrassingly long time to notice the disappearance of his tattoo. It wasn’t even him who noticed.

It was actually Jaehyun who noticed. It was laundry day in their apartment and Jeno had been wearing the same hoodie for a solid two days. It was comfy, sue him. Like a responsible adult would, Jaehyun made him take it off to get it washed. The shirt that Jeno was wearing under came off as well, and he figured it would be best to get them both washed. Yay, hygiene.

Jeno threw the dirty hoodie down the hall where Jaehyun was standing by his room. He held up his hand as a request to throw back a clean shirt to replace the one he had been wearing. Jaehyun went to toss him the shirt but stopped just before it left his hand. Jeno didn’t know why, but Jaehyun looked at him as if he had sprouted a third arm.

“Donghyuck!” Jaehyun yelled. “Get over here!”

Jeno dropped his arm when he realized that he wouldn’t be receiving a shirt. He heard grumbling and then the shuffling of feet as Donghyuck’s head appeared from the living room. “What?” 

Jaehyun walked over to where Jeno was standing and grabbed his wrist, exposing his forearm. Donghyuck walked the few steps over to join them.

“Yeah, we know, Jeno’s lonely—” Donghyuck’s eyes widened. “Well, not anymore.”

Jeno’s tattoo was gone. He had a feeling that he knew exactly who it was. He grabbed the shirt from Jaehyun’s hand, slipping it over his head. “That’s new.”

Donghyuck gave him a look that unmistakably said “ _no shit._ ” He had been on the receiving end of that look too many times to not recognize it.

Jaehyun looked at him. “Didn’t you say that you felt an attraction to Jaemin? Like a tugging feeling in your gut?” Jeno nodded and Jaehyun snapped his fingers with a grin. “That’s what I felt when I first met Doyoung.” Donghyuck nodded in agreement and Jeno tried not to grimace.

Doyoung was Jaehyun’s soulmate, and also Jeno’s older brother. They had met when Doyoung had been in town to visit Jeno. Doyoung had run into Jaehyun on his way over, neither of them aware of the other’s connection to Jeno. A born matchmaker, even when he wasn’t trying. Doyoung hadn’t moved in with Jaehyun due to transit times between their universities—not to mention that living with your boyfriend, your little brother, and his demon of a best friend that you’ve known since he was five was a weird living situation. More often than not, despite the travel time involved, Jaehyun stayed over at Doyoung’s apartment. 

(The first time that Jaehyun had brought Doyoung to introduce him to his housemates had sent both Jeno and Donghyuck rolling on the floor in laughter before they could even explain to Jaehyun why.)

“So Jaemin is my soulmate?” Jeno asked, already knowing the answer. There was a sick feeling in his stomach.

“Who else could it possibly be?” Donghyuck asked rhetorically. Jeno stood frozen in the hallway, trying to settle the queasy feeling in his stomach. “Well, I’m gonna go keep working and let you have your crisis over here.”

“Fuck.”

Jeno flipped over in his bed to stare at the wall, his thoughts refusing to settle. He wasn’t against finding his soulmate, per se. But unlike many people he knew, he wasn’t exactly out there trying to find said person. He wasn't particularly interested in finding his soulmate, more of an 'if it happens, it happens' situation. His priority was always maintaining the scholarship that allowed him to actually attend university. That wasn't to say that he never went out on the weekends, and sometimes the weekdays. Jeno had only been in two "serious" relationships since his first year. Of course, they were more of a 'we keep each other company until one of us finds our soulmate’ or ‘we don’t like each other anymore' type of relationship. Both times, Jeno had been dumped after his partners’ soulmates had been found. 

Jeno's biggest roadblock was a lack of time. Generally, he stayed on top of his assignments and did his readings—he had a GPA to maintain after all. But working on assignments, staying active, and maintaining a social life was draining enough as it was. He had free time, but very little of it. It would be unfair to Jaemin to be in a relationship that only one person could fully commit to. 

Jeno had his predicament labelled as 'I'll burn that bridge when I get to it' and pushed it to the back of his mind. Having actually met Jaemin meant that there was only so much longer that Jeno could ignore the issue. Where it had always been something for Jeno to deal with later, the problem was now very immediate and very real. 

Giving Jaemin a half-assed relationship was the last thing Jeno wanted to do, despite everything. He could only hope that Jaemin was willing to take things slowly.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i have no idea how consistent or how long updates will take so pls be patient :) visit me on twitter @sftchnle (i have lit rally no idea how to link it so that's what you get but i'll work on it)


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